(a) Explain the following services provided by NIPOST: (i) Business Reply Service (ii) Express Delivery (iii) Poste Restante (iv) Cash on Delivery (v) Recor...

(a) Services provided by NIPOST

(i) Business Reply Service: A service that allows a business to receive replies from its customers without the customers paying the postage. The firm prints special reply cards or envelopes; when customers post them, the firm (not the customer) is charged the postage plus a fee. It encourages customers to respond to enquiries and orders.

(ii) Express Delivery: A speed service in which urgent letters and parcels are given priority handling and delivered faster than ordinary mail on payment of an extra charge.

(iii) Poste Restante: A service in which letters are addressed to and held at a named post office to be collected by travellers or persons who have no fixed or permanent address, until they call for them.

(iv) Cash on Delivery (C.O.D.): A service under which the post office delivers goods (a parcel) to the addressee, collects the price of the goods from him on delivery, and remits the money to the sender.

(v) Recorded Delivery: A service in which a record is kept of the posting and delivery of an item, and the addressee signs on receipt, providing proof that the item was delivered. It is used mainly for documents whose value is more sentimental than monetary.

(b) Five ways in which communication is important to commerce

1. Placing and receiving orders: Buyers and sellers use communication to make enquiries, send quotations, place orders and confirm supplies.
2. Advertising and sales promotion: It enables producers and traders to inform and persuade customers about their goods and services.
3. Linking distant markets: It connects buyers and sellers who are far apart, thereby making trade over long distances possible.
4. Speedy transmission of information: It allows prices, market conditions and business decisions to be passed quickly, aiding prompt decision-making.
5. Effecting payments and settling accounts: Communication makes it possible to send money, cheques, invoices and receipts between traders.

(Other valid points: it aids the coordination of business activities and maintains good relations with customers.)